Qin Shiyu
When Jing Rong mentioned Wei Yi eating meat, Ji Yunshu only smiled faintly.
She didn't know when it started, but Jing Rong seemed to treat Wei Yi better!
No, he was trying to curry favor with him!
As for the 'Lin Capital Case', Ji Yunshu's heart was filled with doubts. She put the tassel back into her sleeve and looked at Jing Rong.
"If we want to investigate the 'Lin Capital Case', we naturally need to open the coffins. There are 72 skeletons, and we need to draw a portrait of each of them to determine who the missing person is, but …"
Before she could finish speaking, Jing Rong continued her sentence.
"What you want to say is that this is not a small case. The Imperial Duke is a relative of the imperial family. Opening the coffins and drawing the skeletons will certainly involve a lot of people. So, your worries about opening the coffins won't work."
Jing Rong said everything in her heart.
She nodded and pursed her dry lips. "If it's just opening one coffin, we can still discuss it. But if it's 72, is Your Highness confident? Will His Majesty agree to open the coffins? "
"I'm not sure." Jing Rong's answer was swift and decisive. He frowned. "Moreover, we don't need to open 72, but only 67."
"Huh?"
"Five of them belong to the Imperial Duke and his wife. They have already entered the mausoleum, so it's impossible to open the coffins. Therefore, the missing person is only a servant in the mansion. We only need to ask Imperial Father to open the other 67 coffins."
"I see!"
"Moreover, when we first started investigating this case, no one thought that there would be a day when we would need to open the coffins. After all, before I met you, I didn't know that there was someone in this world who could draw a portrait of a skeleton."
Was he praising her?
But it undoubtedly threw her a difficult problem. If the Emperor didn't issue an edict to open the coffins, no matter how good her painting skills were, it would only be an empty brush!
"Then, Your Highness, what's your next step? Opening the coffins is not a child's play. "
Jing Rong frowned. "Let's not talk about it today. Tomorrow, I'll go see Lord Qin and discuss it with him before making a decision. In short, the coffins must be opened."
He was very determined!
After spending so much effort to bring Ji Yunshu here from Jinjiang, even if he had to dig three feet underground, he must unearth the 67 coffins.
The next day.
Jing Rong paid a visit to Qin Manor.
Qin Shiyu was fifty years old. In his early years, he was also a general. Now, he was appointed as the Secretary of the Army. He had changed from a military officer to a civil officer.
He was a close friend of the Imperial Duke. Ever since the extermination of the Imperial Duke's family, he had been thoroughly investigating the matter for the past fourteen years. More than half a year ago, he finally found three suspicious points and appealed for a reversal of the verdict.
The three suspicious points in the memorial were as follows:
Firstly, on the day of the fire at the Imperial Duke's residence, the residence's soldiers were all transferred to the Bureau of Military Personnel under the Imperial Duke's order. Logically speaking, there were only two reasons for the Imperial Duke's order to transfer the residence's soldiers to the Bureau of Military Personnel. Firstly, there was an abnormality in the capital, and secondly, it was an order from the Emperor. However, there were neither of these reasons, so the Imperial Duke's order was strange.
Secondly, the general who held the Imperial Duke's token and was transferred out of the Bureau of Military Personnel suddenly died not long after the incident. There must be something fishy going on.
Thirdly, there were 73 people in the Imperial Duke's residence, but one corpse was missing. According to the coroner's autopsy, they also checked the residence's population records and found out that the missing corpse might have been a servant who escaped. If they could find the missing servant, they might be able to uncover the truth of the incident that year!
Due to various reasons and Qin Shiyu's vigorous appeal, the Emperor finally agreed to order a thorough investigation.
When Jing Rong arrived at the entrance of Qin Manor, Qin Shiyu welcomed him in.
"There is no need for Prince Rong to come in person. You only need to send someone to inform me, and I will go to Prince Rong's residence."
"It's not a problem. Moreover, it's inconvenient for Lord Qin to move around."
Qin Shiyu's foot was injured during the expedition, so it was inconvenient for him to move around. In addition, he had knelt outside the Nanzhe Gate for three days and three nights, so his foot injury had worsened. It hurt unbearably if he stood for a long time.
The two of them sat cross-legged, and a manservant served two cups of hot tea.
"Prince Rong, in your letter, you mentioned that you brought back a person. Can this person really solve this case?" Qin Shiyu asked.
Jing Rong sighed softly, picked up the teacup, and took a small sip.
Qin Shiyu was puzzled by Jing Rong's reaction, so he asked tentatively, "Prince Rong's mind is slightly heavy. Could there be other changes to this case?"
"To be honest, Lord Qin, for the past six months, this Prince has visited many places according to the list of people in the Imperial Duke's residence registered by the Ministry of Revenue. I wanted to find the missing person, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"So what does Your Highness mean?"
"That year, the fire burned the Imperial Duke's residence for one day and one night. Seventy-two corpses were charred and couldn't be identified. Based on some of the accessories, we were able to identify the Imperial Duke and his wife and children. They were buried in the mausoleum, while the remaining 67 people were buried in Lin Mountain. Do you want to know who the missing person is? The only way is to open the coffin. "
"Open the coffin?"
"This extraordinary person that this Prince brought back can draw portraits from bones. Regardless of whether it's a rotten corpse or a pile of white bones, he can draw a portrait of the person when they were alive. As long as we open the coffin and draw the portraits, we will naturally know who the missing person is."
Jing Rong's words were powerful and resonant.
When he heard the words' open the coffin ', Lord Qin's expression froze. He was slightly surprised.
He leaned forward and said in a trembling voice, "Your Highness should know that this matter is of great importance. Without His Majesty's approval, it is impossible to open the coffin."
That's right, how could it be possible?
He already had a grudge against Qi Zhen Emperor for overturning the case he closed. Now, he wanted to open the coffin and draw the bones?
Wouldn't everyone in the world know?
It was like slapping himself in the face. One slap wasn't enough, he wanted to slap himself twice!
Jing Rong naturally understood the reasoning behind this.
He said, "It is precisely because of this that I came to discuss this matter with Lord Qin."
"This …" Qin Shiyu was truly stumped.
Should I go kneel outside the Nanzhe Gate for another three days and three nights?
This idea had just sprouted, but Jing Rong killed it before it was born.
He said, "Imperial Father has always been wary of people who use the power of public opinion to pressure someone to do something. Lord Qin, you have already been the first person to intervene in the Imperial Duke's case. There is no need for you to ask Imperial Father to open the coffin."
"Does Prince Rong have confidence?"
Jing Rong shook his head. "For now, let's wait until after Concubine Xiao's birthday tomorrow."
Qin Shiyu heard this. Concubine Xiao's birthday? He immediately asked, "Is this the Emperor's intention? Does he want to meet this extraordinary person? "
It had to be said that Qin Shiyu was a smart man.
Jing Rong's knuckles lightly tapped on the table. His eyes revealed an unfathomable emotion.
He slowly said, "After all, this matter involves the imperial family. It is inevitable that Imperial Father wants to meet her."
Qin Shiyu stroked his beard. His eyebrows revealed his curiosity.
"In fact, this lowly official is also somewhat curious. Is there really such an extraordinary person in this world? Can she draw a portrait of a pile of white bones? "
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